Carolina

Panthers

Fitterer was relieved of his duties as the Panthers’ general manager in January. The team went 14-37 in three years under him. Carolina was in a rebuilding period when Fitterer took over and the plane never so much as left the runway. His tenure ended in disaster after he traded up to the No. 1 overall pick for Bryce Young, only for the Alabama quarterback to implode as a rookie. To Fitterer’s credit, David Tepper had his thumb on the scale more than almost any other owner in the league, making it hard to know how much blame to assign to Fitterer. Now under new ownership, the Commanders’ front office has been revamped for the 2024 season and is led by Adam Peters.

Rookie fourth-rounder Ja’Tavion Sanders was expected to be the Panthers tight end who would impress in the passing game. While that still may happen, Newton writes that in head coach Dave Canales’ “tight-end-friendly scheme [Thomas] has become a big target” at the position. The Panthers rank dead last in the league in tight end targets over the last four seasons, and Thomas hasn’t gone for more than 197 yards since posting a line of 36-333-2 as a rookie back in 2018. We’ll take this one with a grain of salt, but it’s possible the seven-year vet is the preferred tight end for the Panthers in 2024 if his strong offseason carries into training camp.

“It’s been awesome. Not only him, just a lot of the young guys, a lot of the staff. It’s just been a great offseason to just see some of these guys who haven’t been in the league very long — just the way that they’ve come in with confidence,” Thielen said on the Rich Eisen Show. “You can tell, Bryce’s demeanor in the building — he’s just more comfortable, right? And you don’t realize it when you start getting to be a veteran guy, just because you forget about those times.” Offseason reports on Young have been unfailingly positive after he was among the worst quarterbacks in the NFL during his 2023 rookie season, in which he had the second worst adjusted EPA per drop back. A more competent Young could lead to solid seasons for short-area pass catchers like Thielen and Diontae Johnson in 2024.

Canales also said Brooks has a ways to go before he is ready and the team will ease him into training camp. Brooks suffered a torn ACL late in his final season at Texas and is still recovering from the injury. Previous reports were optimistic that Brooks would be cleared by training camp, but Canales and the Panthers are now pumping the breaks. Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders are the next men up on Carolina’s depth chart. Hubbard proved far more effective than Sanders last year and would likely get the first crack at the starting gig if Brooks misses any time.

Butler was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2019 and has appeared in just two games since entering the league. Still waiting to catch his first NFL pass, Butler was named the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Year this season after going for 45-652-5 as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks. The 6-foot-5 speedster who once blazed a 4.48 at the NFL Scouting Combine could have a chance to earn an invite to Panthers training camp if all goes well, but he would be a long shot to make the 53-man roster at this time.

Davis spent last offseason with the Dolphins after signing with them as a UDFA out of Western Kentucky. He was waived during final cutdowns and eventually caught on with the UFL’s Memphis Showboats. He was named to the All-UFL team at the end of their season after he totaled 41 receptions for 446 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Davis will get a chance to compete for a spot on a Panthers roster that’s relatively thin at receiver.

The hamstring issue, according to ESPN’s David Newton, popped up last week during OTAs and has lingered into this week’s practices. Legette, widely seen as an unrefined wideout coming out of South Carolina, can’t afford to miss much time in summer practices if he’s going to play consistent snaps in Carolina’s offense this season. His hamstring issue is one worth monitoring.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Cohen was signed primary to handle kickoff returns. Cohen, who hasn’t taken a regular season snap since the 2020 season, will try to make the Jets roster this summer. He’s suffered both an ACL tear and an Achilles tear during his pro career and has struggled to get back to the form he displayed in his first couple seasons with the Bears. Cohen had a combined 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2018 as a scat back in Chicago.

Horn has missed more games than he has played in after the Panthers selected him No. 8 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, appearing in just 22 games while missing 29. He reportedly added more weightlifting to his offseason routine, saying Monday, “Just trying to switch something up and start from ground zero and build my body back up.” Horn added, “I know what I’m capable of, and I still feel like I’m one of the best DBs in this league. I’ve just got to be out there to show it. So, that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.” Horn will play the 2024 season on the fourth year of his five-year rookie deal after the team exercised his fifth-year option in April.

Coming off one of the worst rookie years in recent memory, anything that’s positive is good news for Young, who is hoping to put a disastrous 2023 campaign behind him. Canales added that Young has “really mastered” learning the routes and desired footwork for plays early on, and praised him for his consistency. Canales was instrumental in Baker Mayfield’s bounce-back with the Buccaneers last season. His success with Mayfield is ultimately what helped him land his role with the Panthers this offseason, as owner David Tepper hopes his former No. 1 pick can display some of the promise that made him the top selection in last year’s draft. An early mastery of the offense is a great sign for Young, but we’ll have to see how this continues to transfer to the field once training camp starts up in a few months.